UConn heads to ninth straight Final Four

Stewart leads way with double-double

UConn's Breanna Stewart drives the lane past Ariel Atkins, right, on Monday. The Huskies beat Texas 86-65 to make it to the Final Four. (Jessica Hill / Associated Press)

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Morgan Tuck scored 22 points and Breanna Stewart added 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead top-seeded UConn back to the Final Four with an 86-65 victory over Texas on Monday night in the Bridgeport Regional.

It's UConn's ninth straight trip to the Final Four where it will be trying for a record fourth consecutive national championship. A feat never accomplished in the sport.

The victory, UConn's 73rd straight overall, was also the school's 22nd consecutive one in the postseason, breaking a tie with Tennessee for the most in a row.

Two more victories will give coach Geno Auriemma an 11th title, moving him past vaunted UCLA men's coach John Wooden for most all-time in college basketball history.

Stewart was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the regional.

The Huskies will join Final Four newcomers Syracuse and Washington in Indianapolis this weekend.

UConn will play the winner of Baylor and Oregon State in the national semifinals Sunday night.

Making the Final Four seemed like a foregone conclusion the way UConn has played this season, winning every game by double digits. The Huskies even stepped up their play in the regionals. They shattered their record when they routed Mississippi State in the Sweet 16 by an NCAA-best 60 points.

This was the second straight year that the Huskies (36-0) ended the Longhorns' season. UConn beat Texas (31-5) by a then-record 51 points last season in the Sweet 16. Texas made it one step further this season before falling to the Huskies again.

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Unlike that game which was basically over by the half, the Longhorns hung around with the Huskies on Monday night.

They only trailed 30-25 with 7:21 left in the second quarter before Stewart started a 12-1 run that blew the game open. Freshman Naphessa Collier was big in the game-changing spurt, scoring five straight points. Her classmate Katie Lou Samuelson hit a 3-pointer to cap the burst.

The Huskies led by 15 at the half and extended the advantage to 21 early in the third quarter, but the Longhorns hit three straight 3s to come within 54-42. That's as close as they would get as UConn scored 10 of the next 13 points to put the game away. The Huskies' big three of Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Tuck combined for all 10 points.

The trio, who earned All-America honors earlier in the day, scored all but two of the Huskies' points the rest of the way until they left to a loud ovation from the sellout crowd with 1:38 left in the game.

The Longhorns advanced to the regional final for the first time since 2003, which was also the last season they reached the Final Four.

Ariel Atkins and Lashann Higgs scored 19 points each to lead the Longhorns.

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